Tips for VN travelling

- Bus ticket: Sing Cafe Open Tour
- If you can ride a motorbike, great! You can explore more with more freedom

Recommended places:
- Hanoi: spend one day with HanoiKids (http://hanoikids.org/), but they are very popular and thus you should book them in advance. Tell them what you're interested in and they'll give you a personalized itinerary.

In Hanoi, don't skip the egg-coffe (address: 155 Phố Huế, Ngô Thì Nhậm, Hai Bà Trưng, Hà Nội, Vietnam).
Also, try the Vietnamese beef jerky. Very tasty (but can burn your stomach if you happen to buy the spicy type)
Thanh Chuong Palace is great to see a private collection and a reenactment of an ancient Vietnamese village
Food:
- Pho (the best in VN are here)
- Fish fillet (Cha ca La Vong in Vietnamese)
- Grilled rib + broken rice (Cơm tấm)
- Traditional sweet beverage made from beans and fruits (in Vietnamese: chè). They're very popular in Vietnam so just ask your hotel.
- Vietnamese sandwich
And try street food whenever you feel like it. Make sure to ask for the price in advance.

- Ha Long Bay: a two day trip from Hanoi would do. Or one day trip is possible. But I've heard it's best to stay on a boat overnight and catch the sunrise
* Cat Ba Island: less touristy than Ha Long Bay, but a beautiful area.
- Ninh Binh: Tam Coc Grottoes is great. If you can visit at either early morning or late afternoon, it's less crowded
- Cuc Phuong National Park if you're into nature

Then HEAD SOUTH
- Huế: ancient capital of Vietnam. Totally recommended.
- Hội An: recently became a bit touristy. They charge an entrance fee now (used to not) for around 6 dollars (quite pricey). But it's worth a visit
- From Hoi An, you can visit My Son (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M%E1%BB%B9_S%C6%A1n)

Nha Trang: beautiful beach. But a bit touristy
Visit Mui Ne if you can: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M%C5%A9i_N%C3%A9 - the dunes there are rather mesmerizing

Sai Gon: the largest city in Vietnam. I'm from the north so I can't say much, but there are tons of things to do there.
Don't forget to visit Cu Chi tunnel and try out shooting an AK47 :-)
There's a group called Sai Gon Hotpot (http://saigonhotpot.vn/) which is also similar to HanoiKids so it's worth ringing them up.